2024 Universal Orlando Planning Guide
Our 2024 Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure planning guide offers park & ride strategy. It features tips & tricks to help you save money & time, avoid crowds, and have the best vacation or side-visit from Walt Disney World as possible. (Updated January 7, 2024.)
We’re Universal Orlando Annual Passholders and huge fans of those parks in addition to Walt Disney World. Universal has improved a ton and upped its game in the last decade. This began with the Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade lands of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which were further enhanced by Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure.
That has been taken to the next level with the debut of Jurassic World VelociCoaster, and to a lesser extent, with the new Minions mini-land last year. This is once again going to be another big year thanks to the DreamWorks Animation Land Opening in 2024 at Universal Studios Florida. These recent and upcoming additions, not to mention an all-new theme park in 2025, are among the reasons why some Walt Disney World fans are openly asking: Is Universal Beating Disney?
Suffice to say, we highly recommend spending a couple of days at Universal when vacationing at Walt Disney World. This is guide to Universal Orlando Resort contains everything you’ll need to know. Whether you’re doing both parks in a single day or making a trip of it with an on-site hotel stay and multiple days at Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, we have you covered with info and advice about attractions, dining, resorts, strategy, crowds, and more.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to make the most of a visit to Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. We’re going to take a counterintuitive organizational approach to this guide, as we’ve found that many readers consult it while visiting Universal rather than during the planning stages of a trip. Accordingly, we’re going to front load with info you need to know if you’ve already touched down in Central Florida.
If you’re a Disney fan simply trying to determine whether a trip to Universal Orlando Resort is right for you in the first place, you might start by reading our Universal vs. Walt Disney World post, which covers some of the pros and cons of each, plus the differences between the two vacation destinations. Although they’re all theme parks located in Central Florida, each have strengths and weaknesses that will make them better or worse for certain types of families–ages, demographics, etc.
Similarly, if you’re debating between resorts at the two main theme park complexes, see our comprehensive breakdown: Universal Orlando vs. Walt Disney World Hotels. That should help you determine which is the better option for your vacation–or if a split stay might be best!
For what it’s worth, neither of these versus posts nor the one about whether Universal is “beating” Disney are pointless fan cheerleading or theme parks as polarizing team sports. The two versus posts are practical planning that objectively weigh pros and cons, whereas the “beating” one is an editorial (not useful for planning, but potentially interesting).
Anyway, here’s everything else you need to know about visiting Universal Orlando Resort…
What’s New & Next at Universal
If you have not been to Universal Orlando in a while (or ever), a lot has changed in the last several years. This includes a few attractions that have been added in the last several years: Bourne Stuntacular, Fast and the Furious: Supercharged, Race Through New York starring Jimmy Fallon, and Skull Island: Reign of Kong.
In terms of what’s new, there are two hugely popular coasters in Islands of Adventure: Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure in the Hogsmeade side of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Without question, VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s are two of the very best roller coasters in Orlando. (I’d personally put both above TRON Lightcycle Run at Walt Disney World, but to each their own on that.)
As noted above, there’s also the new Minion Land at Universal Studios Florida. As the name suggests, this is an area based on the Despicable Me film franchise, and builds on the popularity of the existing Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem attraction. This is now an expanded avenue with the new Villain-Con Minion Blast ride and Minion Cafe restaurant, plus more retail, snack spots, meet & greets, placemaking, and more.
Next on the horizon is the aforementioned DreamWorks Animation Land that will feature characters like Gabby from Gabby’s Dollhouse and explore themed, interactive play spaces and attractions that bring popular franchises like Shrek, Trolls and Kung Fu Panda to life.
Although unconfirmed, this is expected to feature a “Trollercoaster” (a Trolls-themed roller coaster, hence the name) and a Shrek’s swamp area. Construction permits put the end of work in March 2024, which makes sense–have the DreamWorks land open by Spring Break. (That opening timeframe is also unconfirmed, though–permits can be extended, but construction appears to be progressing quickly.)
These new additions are appetizers to the main course, which comes in Summer 2025. Universal is building a third theme park in Central Florida and construction is progressing fast. It’s full steam ahead on this project, and Universal’s Epic Universe Park is Opening by Summer 2025! This will bring Super Nintendo World plus more Harry Potter, Universal Monsters, How to Train Your Dragon, and much more to Universal Orlando in the coming years.
In the here and now, another thing worth addressing in terms of what’s new is a return to normal in terms of attendance and crowds. After nearly two full years of pent-up demand driving wait times and prices higher, both Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have seen a slowdown.
With this, both Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando have gotten more aggressive with discounts in an attempt to entice more people to visit their parks and stay in on-site hotels. We’ve mentioned repeatedly that Walt Disney World already has released a dozen different discounts for 2024.
Universal has followed suit, shifting from discounts aimed almost exclusively at Annual Passholders and Florida residents to general public offers. There’s currently a “buy 2 days, get 3 free” ticket deal, resort discounts offering 20-35% off, and package deals offering up to $650 off.
These are worth pricing out for yourself, but we should warn that many have length of stay requirements of 5 days. That’s longer than most people will spend at Universal Orlando (which is part of why it’s being offered–to increase visit durations). In any case, we recommend using a travel agent–such as Be Our Guest Vacations–to price out different packages and deals, and help you figure out the best way to save, plan your trip, etc.
Now let’s turn to Universal Orlando’s advanced planning topics…
Where to Stay
There are a number of questions you have to ask yourself when planning a trip, and many of them will dictate where you stay. Do you want Unlimited Express Pass by staying at an eligible Universal Orlando hotel? Do you want to stay at a Walt Disney World hotel for the duration of your trip, or change hotels? Do you want to stay an an off-site hotel in the general vicinity of both Universal and Disney to save money?
We’ve recently stayed at every single on-site hotel at Universal Orlando Resort–here are our reviews:
- Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Orlando Review (recommended)
- Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando Review (highly recommended)
- Loews Royal Pacific Resort at Universal Orlando Review (good Express Pass eligible “budget” pick)
- Loews Sapphire Falls Resort at Universal Orlando Review (highly recommended)
- Universal’s Aventura Hotel Review
- Universal’s Cabana Bay Beach Resort Review (highly recommended)
- Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Surfside Inn & Suites Review (good budget pick)
- Universal’s Endless Summer Resort – Dockside Inn & Suites (2-Bedroom) Review (good for larger families)
For insight into all of these hotels, their pros & cons, and how they compare and contrast with one another, see our Universal Orlando Hotel Rankings & Reviews.
We are big fans of Universal’s hotels, and are particularly partial to the two “bay” resorts: Loews Portofino Bay Hotel and Cabana Bay Beach Resort. Both of those are in our top 10 hotels in Orlando, rivaling some of our favorite resorts at Walt Disney World.
Universal’s hotels provide great bang for buck, and even those that don’t include free Express Pass do offer Early Park Admission to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and Universal’s Volcano Bay one hour before those parks open. That can be absolutely huge!
As for staying off-site, you generally will get the most bang for your buck when staying in an off-site hotel, as there are a lot of non-Disney and non-Universal hotels competing with one another. We have an Off-Site v. On-Site Walt Disney World Hotels article that goes into greater depth about the pros and cons of staying off-site, and it’s marginally applicable to Universal, as well.
As for simply staying at a Walt Disney World hotel for the duration of your trip regardless of where you go, we have written comprehensive reviews with our opinions and photos of the rooms. Check out our Walt Disney World Hotel Reviews page, for links to each of these reviews.
Ride Strategy for Universal Orlando
Next, what to know while you’re at Universal Orlando. For starters, we strongly recommend that you do not “wing it” for your daily itinerary due to the aforementioned crowd issues. You don’t need to plan every movement so that there’s no spontaneity in your trip, just make sure you have at least a loose plan of what you’re going to do.
We have the following plans for each park that cover our perfect days:
- 1-Day Universal Studios Florida Park Itinerary
- 1-Day Islands of Adventure Park Itinerary
- 1-Day Universal Park Hopping Itinerary (both Islands of Adventure & Universal Studios Florida)
Those offer step by step touring plans for both theme parks at Universal Orlando, prioritizing the most popular rides and skipping what isn’t worth your time. Those will help you do Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man, Incredible Hulk Coaster, Jurassic Park River Adventure, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts, and other must-do rides.
If you’d prefer to create your own itineraries and want an overview and review of every attraction at each of the parks, consult our Islands of Adventure Ride Guide and Universal Studios Florida Ride Guide. If you’re a fan spinners, you might want to check those out, as we don’t waste your time with that nonsense in the itineraries.
When to Visit
If you’re adding on a Universal Orlando visit to your Walt Disney World vacation, the answer to this is easy…whenever you’re visiting Walt Disney World. Crowd patterns at Walt Disney World translate pretty similarly to Universal Orlando.
The reasons are two-fold: first, because crowds tend to be predicated upon school schedules, which are the same for both; second, because Walt Disney World is the ‘whale’ in the Orlando market, so crowds for all theme parks are dictated by when guests plan their Disney vacations. In other words, you can refer to our 2024 Walt Disney World Crowd Calendars post to determine when to visit, as that’s roughly applicable to Universal Orlando as well.
There are only some exceptions to this, and they’re largely predicated upon special events that are unique to each of the parks. For example, Walt Disney World sees its crowds spike due to runDisney events, when its hotels are hosting conventions or youth sporting events, or during EPCOT festivals. By contrast, Universal sees its own spikes around Mardi Gras, Halloween Horror Nights, and early December when it plays host to the Pop Warner youth football event.
In general, though, the big driver of attendance at both is school breaks. In particular, those of Orange County and other counties throughout Florida and the South. Of course, both are vacation destinations, so breaks for school districts in the Midwest and Northeast also have a significant impact. The obvious times like Spring Break, Easter, Summer, Fall Break, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve are all busy.
More under the radar timeframes like MLK Day, Presidents’ Day, Mardi Gras, Columbus Day, Veterans Day, and more also see pronounced spikes in crowds. Again, reference the aforementioned crowd calendars if you’re looking to choose the best times to visit Universal Orlando.
Due to a surge of locals on weekends, we strongly recommend avoiding Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure on Saturdays and Sundays. Mondays through Thursdays are the best days to visit, with much lower crowds then. However, that goes out the window during holiday weeks or anytime school is out of session, when it’s disproportionately tourists and every single day of the week is busy.
The one exception to this is if you want to see or avoid Halloween season at Universal, namely Halloween Horror Nights (HHN). This is a hard ticket event that has a huge following among locals and fans of haunt season, in general.
During HHN, you step onto the set of some of your favorite horror movies, and walking through those sets as actors attempt to scare you. This event is not for children under the age of 13, and has absolutely nothing in common with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party at Walt Disney World. See our Guide to Halloween Horror Nights for more.
Aside from this, the only noteworthy events are Mardi Gras and Christmas. See our Guide to Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval at Universal Studios Florida. At this fun event, guests can experience a food festival with cuisine and entertainment inspired by international Carnaval celebrations.
Food booths serve up the flavors of Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Germany, Spain and other regions including, of course, New Orleans. Plus enjoy spectacular floats on display, street entertainment, music, beads and more throughout Universal Studios Florida.
Although HHN gets all the attention from the fan community, an equally popular seasonal event is Christmas at Universal Orlando. During this, Grinchmas and Universal’s Holiday Parade featuring Macy’s are the main entertainment draws. There’s also the Christmas Tribute Store, which is essentially a walk-through exhibit, plus Universal Studios Florida’s iconic Christmas Tree.
Perhaps the biggest draw is Winter in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, which features unique decor and projections on Hogwarts Castle. There are also decorations around both parks in Seuss Landing, Hogsmeade, Diagon Alley, Hollywood, New York, and San Francisco.
How Many Days?
This one is going to vary widely based on a few variables. The biggest one is how receptive your party is to the type of attractions that are prominent at Universal Orlando Resort, namely, roller coasters and screen-based simulators. That’s reductionist, and there are many more things at Universal than those types of rides, but if your party is averse to either, doing more than 2 days at Universal is going to be tough.
If you love coasters or have teens, you can easily spend 3 days or more at Universal Orlando. Heck, I’m not huge on roller coasters or simulators, and I can easily do 2 days (or even 3) at Universal. Likewise, if you love Harry Potter, several days at Universal will be easy. The two Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter alone can fill a good chunk of the day. I mean, Diagon Alley has a fire-breathing dragon…not liking dragons is distinctly unpatriotic.
Islands of Adventure also has a Jurassic Park area, which is basically a tribute to our greatest national treasure: dinosaurs. It’s not as good as a real Jurassic Park (that would be like the San Diego Zoo meets the Lincoln Memorial meets Tokyo DisneySea), but it’s an enjoyable area to explore. In other words, there’s plenty to do if you’re an “ambiance person” at the Universal parks.
Then, there’s also the question of how much “extra” vacation time you have. Assuming you’ve already allocated your time at Walt Disney World and are looking at “other stuff” to round out your trip to Florida, I’d probably look to spending more time at Universal than other parks like SeaWorld or Busch Gardens. That’s personal preference and all of these parks definitely aren’t trying to accomplish the same thing, but I find the Disney and Universal parks to be in a different league than all of the rest.
Universal Orlando Park Tickets
If you’re looking for a deal on park tickets, Get Away Today will save you the most money on Universal Orlando tickets. This is especially true if you’re doing a longer trip, as Get Away Today has a ‘Buy 2 days, get 3 days free’ special. With more and more to do at Universal Orlando, spending several days in the parks is highly recommended–especially if you’re staying in a nearby hotel and want to do some partial days (also recommended).
I am a fan of the Park-to-Park tickets if you can swing spending extra. This is because Universal did something really ingenious when it built Diagon Alley, and that was connecting the two Wizarding Worlds of Harry Potter via the Hogwarts Express.
You can only ride this train from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley (or vice-a-versa) if you have the Park-to-Park ticket. I’m no Harry Potter fan, but the experience of entering a train station in London, walking through a wall, and then taking a train to Hogsmeade is pretty awesome.
If you’re going for just one day and don’t want the park-to-park tickets, the best way to save money on Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida tickets is simply going to be buying tickets online on Universal Orlando’s website. The Universal tickets purchased online can be printed at home and used at the turnstiles–meaning no waiting in line to purchase tickets or exchange vouchers.
Express Pass
Express Pass is Universal Orlando’s version of Genie+ or Lightning Lanes (a way to skip the lines) and is available as a ticket add-on or with select hotel stays. You can purchase two varieties of Express Pass, regular or unlimited. Almost all of the most popular attractions in each park offer Express Pass.
The regular version allows you to skip the line once per eligible attraction in either park, and costs $90 to $350 per person depending on the date. Universal Express Unlimited offers line-skipping privileges, as the name suggests, an unlimited number of times per attraction, and costs between $100 and $380 per person. Even at its most expensive, Genie+ at Walt Disney World costs under $40 per person. So, what’s the difference? Well, a lot.
Unlike Genie+ or Lightning Lanes, there is no tech component to Express Pass. While it’s significantly more expensive, it’s also frictionless. You simply go up to the attraction and use your Express Pass entitlement. There’s nothing to reserve or hassle with in an app. Express Pass involves zero screen time and headaches–but you’ll pay a lot more for it!
Whether Express Pass is worth the money largely depends upon what day of the week and season you’re visiting, and how you value your time versus your money. Personally, we would not pay for Express Pass most days. However, we also avoid weekends and holidays, arrive for park opening, and utilize an efficient park itinerary.
If you really want Express Pass, staying at an on-site hotel that offers Express Pass with your stay is absolutely the way to go. Unlimited Express Pass is available at the Universal Premier category resorts–meaning Royal Pacific, Hard Rock Hotel, and Portofino Bay–which are Universal’s most expensive hotels. Honestly, this is the only way we’ve ever “bought” Express Pass–we couldn’t justify the cost any other way.
All three of these hotels are nice, on par with Walt Disney World’s Deluxe Resorts, and generally cost less. They’re still pricey, but they’re cheaper than Disney’s higher-end hotels, and absolutely worth the money–especially if you want the Unlimited Express Pass perk or a good location within walking or boat distance of Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida. If you’d be staying at a nice hotel anyway, this trio is definitely worthy of your consideration.
If you want to learn more about this line-skipping option and how it compares to Walt Disney World’s counterpart, see our guide: Universal’s Express Pass v. Lightning Lanes & Genie+ at Walt Disney World.
Transportation
By far the most common questions we get concerning Universal Orlando Resort is: “what’s the best way to get from Walt Disney World Universal.” The answer is that there are a lot of options, but by far the best is Uber. We covered this in depth in our Uber vs. Rental Cars at Walt Disney World article. Here’s the pertinent portion of that post:
In the past, the best option we’ve found for those who don’t have rental cars the duration of their trips is either renting a car on-site for the day, or taking a pricey shuttle. Neither is cost-effective or all that appealing, especially when you add on that parking fee.
For those who aren’t renting a car for the duration of their trip, Uber or Lyft are the unquestionable best options for getting from Walt Disney World to Universal. The one-way cost of an Uber or Lyft from Walt Disney World will vary depending upon your exact location, typically costing under $25 each way and taking 20-25 minutes.
Dining
There are some good restaurants in Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure, but as a whole, I do not think the culinary experience is on par with Walt Disney World’s. The unquestionable highlights, in my mind, are the counter service restaurants in Diagon Alley (Leaky Cauldron) and Hogsmeade (Three Broomsticks) and the table service restaurant, Mythos, which is a great value.
Other in-park restaurants at Universal Orlando that we like include the Today Show Cafe (for lighter options) and Krusty Burger (for the exact opposite). Actually, there’s something for everyone in the Springfield area, which has a variety of dining options drawn from The Simpsons.
On the snacking front, you’re obviously going to want to try Butterbeer–perhaps all three varieties (frozen, hot, and regular). Most of the other snacks we enjoy are also in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Florean Fortescue’s Ice-Cream Parlour and Honeydukes.
Another thing you might want to consider is purchasing a refillable Coke Freestyle mug. I’ve done this, but I can really put down the Cokes to make it worth the money. I’m sure some day I will be toothless, but hopefully that’s at least 5 years away. These Coke Freestyle machines located throughout the parks are also a convenient way to get free water that’s cold and tastes great.
Other Things to Do
Volcano Bay is Universal Orlando’s water park. It’s themed to the South Seas and features a giant volcano (hence the name) in the middle with water slides in it. For Walt Disney World fans, it’s a bit like Typhoon Lagoon water park mixed with Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort and Adventureland.
All the rides at Volcano Bay feature a Virtual Line instead of traditional standby queues. You tap in with your TapuTapu wearable (think MagicBand) to grab a ride time. Then go float, swim, splash, eat, shop or relax around Volcano Bay. Your TapuTapu will tell you when it’s your time to ride.
You will either love or hate the virtual queue system at Volcano Bay. That pretty much comes down to whether you beat the crowds or not. That can be accomplished by arriving and/or staying late, buying Express Pass, or visiting during the off-season. If you don’t do any of those things, you’ll likely think the virtual queue system sucks, and you won’t accomplish much. It’s definitely a system that creates winners and losers–they key is (obviously) to be in the former group and not the latter.
In addition to the two theme parks and Volcano Bay water park, there’s CityWalk. This is Universal Orlando’s shopping, dining, and entertainment complex, which is a lot like Disney Springs. The big difference is that you walk through CityWalk to access Universal Studios Florida or Islands of Adventure, and it’s incredibly easy to exit the parks and eat lunch or dinner at CityWalk. No bus necessary!
There’s also a lot of relatively new dining at CityWalk, such as Red Coconut Club, Bigfire, Voodoo Doughnut, Toothsome Chocolate Emporium, Cowfish Sushi Burger Bar, and VIVO Italian Kitchen–among other things. Toothsome is a fan-favorite for its over the top milkshakes and dessert concoctions (as well as the fun steampunk theme), and Voodoo Doughnut is a fun spot. With that said, we think both are slightly overrated.
For our money, the sleeper hits of the list are Bigfire and Cowfish, both of which offer great food at reasonable (by theme park standards) prices. We’d also give honorable mentions to Vivo and Antojitos Authentic Mexican Food. While the latter is not our personal favorite, it’s better than the “blockbuster” touristy restaurants like Hard Rock Cafe, Margaritaville, and Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Nothing against any of those–but they’re essentially Applebee’s with more wow-factor. Good enough for predictably-prepared comfort food, but absolutely nothing special.
One final note on attractions is that there are numerous attractions that don’t allow bags, but provide free lockers nearby for storing backpacks, cameras, small children, and whatever other random junk you might have on you. These are pretty convenient and there are larger lockers you can pay for at the front of the park, but the point here is for those of you who are used to bringing a small U-Haul worth of stuff into the Walt Disney World parks: you can’t do that at Universal. Pack for the parks a little lighter.
I think this is probably a good starting point if you’re planning on visiting Universal Orlando Resort as an add-on to your Walt Disney World vacation. If you would like to see some of these topics covered in greater depth, please let me know in the comments. We’re planning to tackle more on dining, special events, and Universal Orlando news in the coming months, so stay tuned for more of that!
Need trip planning tips and comprehensive advice for your visit to Central Florida? Make sure to read our Walt Disney World Vacation Planning Guide for everything about those parks, resorts, restaurants, and so much more. For regular updates, news & rumors, a heads up when discounts are released, and much more, sign up for our FREE email newsletter!
Your Thoughts
Are you visiting Universal Orlando Resort in 2024? Excited for Epic Universe or other rumored additions in the next few years? What about Jurassic World VelociCoaster, Hagrid’s, or the new rides that have recently opened? Have a favorite on-site hotel at Universal? Do you prefer staying on-site at Universal, or commuting from Walt Disney World? If you’re a first-timer, is there anything else you’d like to know? Chances are if you have questions still, so does someone else! Please share your thoughts in the comments
Can you get free water from the “These Coke Freestyle machines located throughout the parks”?
When I do Disney we always bring refillable (BPA free) plastic bottles and fill them with water at any Disney soda machine at the hotels and parks. Usually we’ll bring lemonade or Ice tea powder packs to pour into them.
I’m just curious because I hate drinking soda and I really hate my kids drinking it all day, as a matter of fact my 5 year old HATES soda.
I’ve never tried this, to be honest. I don’t *think* the Freestyle machines will work without the Freestyle cups, and no idea whether or not the cups would need to be recharged, but it’s worth a try. The stands do, however, give you a free cup of ice water upon request just as they do at Disney, and you can always use that to fill up your water bottle.
Water is absolutely available and free with any cup at the freestyle machines.
WOW I just saw the Endless Summer hotel online and it looks really nice. And I just checked rooms next month (July) and I can get a 2 Bedroom Suite that sleeps 6!!! for 205.00 a night. That would be 350-400 dollars at a Disney resort. And with the parking fee at Disney now imposed its the same as Universal in that aspect now. Giving this one a hard look and will prob try it out next Orlando trip.
Just got back from a trip to Disney World/Universal and we stayed at the Portofino to get the express passes for 2 days (you get the day you checkin first thing in the morning until midnight the day you check out) and then moved to Cabana Bay the second night to take advantage of early entrance to Volcano Bay. I thought the express passes were worth it, considering it was opening weekend of the new Harry Potter ride (which we did not ride due to it’s 4 hour wait at that time). Even with express passes, we still waited about 20 minutes for some things, so they are not exactly like fastpasses at Disney. The waits are a little longer. We are huge Harry Potter fans and I considered the early entrance you get with staying on site so worth it. We had a good 2 hours of uncrowded time to enjoy diagon alley until the crowds start to spike later. The Harry Potter rides are included on the express pass except for the new harry potter ride. The hotels were nice, just not quite as nice as Disney. They lack some of those details and customer service you get used to at Disney. Besides Harry Potter, we weren’t too impressed with the rest of Universal. I would agree with the statement that there are a lot of screen rides. Most of what we ended up riding involved a screen and the seat moving, with a few exceptions. We also really hated the lockers. Sometimes they were required and sometimes they weren’t, so you never really knew what to do with your stuff. They never had any places to hold stuff like Disney does on it’s rides. The locker areas on rides that were required to have them, such as Harry Potter rides, were SOOO congested it made getting a locker a nightmare. The highlight of our trip besides Harry Potter lands, was Volcano Bay. We found this water park comparable in every way to a Disney water park. We had done the glow night at Typhoon Lagoon earlier in the week, and dare I say it? We enjoyed Volcano Bay much more than Typhoon Lagoon. Sorry Tom, I know Typhoon Lagoon is a favorite for you. With early entrance, we walked on everything for an entire hour and then it didn’t get too crowded later so we had a very enjoyable day. We bought express passes for volcano bay, but felt we really didn’t need them after having early entrance. It did help us ride everything again in the afternoon quickly, so it saved time, but was not necessary. We thought all the water slides were inventive and smooth and fast and loved them all. We rented a car to go to Universal and then drove ourselves to the airport after. I think in future I would do a split stay and end at Disney because I really missed the magical express for going back to the airport!
You can get a roundtrip shuttle to Universal from Disney for like $22. Just make sure you’re looking online for the one that picks up multiple people, not the private one.
Regarding snacks, I’d say that the most memorable are the various candies you’ll find in the Harry Potter sections of either park. Seuss Landing in Islands of Adventure also has some great finds– particularly the cotton candy at Honk Honkers. Don’t forget to add candy to it. In the Simpsons area, you can get your hand on an enormous and Instagramable Lard Lad donut.
These items aren’t what I’d call unique in and of themselves. They’re just a tad more fun in their presentation.
I like to recommend the quick service dining plan with Freestyle cup. Two reasons… If you’re going to eat at either of the two Harry Potter quick service locations and enjoy a butterbeer, it’s likely going to save you money anyway. It’s also the cheapest way to get your hands on the initial Freestyle cup– which can also be filled with the many different Icee flavors you’ll find around both parks. (We make a bit of a scavenger hunt out of this.)
You can recharge the Freestyle cup and use it an additional day for a fee, but just buying a cup for the first use is going to set you back about $16. The quick service plan with Freestyle cup, by comparison, is only $6 more than the regular quick service plan without it. If you were going to eat at a Harry Potter restaurant and get a butterbeer anyway, this is a spectaclar deal.
Here’s how we do this: Day One, purchase the plan and get your Freestyle cups. Go around both parks and get the different Icee flavors. Day Two, use the remaining meal and snack credits (yes, they can be used on a different day) to eat at either Harry Potter quick service restaurant and get a butterbeer.
Should you opt out of the Freestyle cup, I recommend trying out the pumpkin juice or pumpkin fizz or a cider with your beverage credits.
The food at Volcano Bay is actually the best out of all three Universal parks, and I’ve even found it to be on par with some Disney finds. Those restaurants might be worth using your meal credit on if the math makes sense, though the butterbeer would still be my top recommendation for the snack credit. (Those aren’t at Volcano Bay, but again… You can use the credits on different days.) I also recommend the POG slushie as a refreshing treat.
Ride time waits are… not Disney. It’s a bit of a refreshing change from Disney, in fact.
Do you think with Star Wars land opening this fall that Universal will be less busy?
Please update express pass info… all HP rides are included now… except maybe Hagrid’s, haven’t heard about that one specifically yet.
yes- thanks ! I was wondering if I had misread or misunderstood this on Universal’s website. HP rides can now be used with Express Pass. https://www.universalorlando.com/webcontent/en/us/tickets-packages/express-passes?v=a6
my sister and I will be going to Universal Orlando in November for the first time and I would LOVE you 1-day Itinerary suggestions you mentioned in this article
My daughter does not ride roller coasters. She’ll do some small rides or simulators. Will there be things for us to do there or should I find somewhere else for us to go? Thanks!!
There is still a good bit to do if you don’t like those type of rides. Even as an adult, I’m in love with Seuss Landing over in Islands of Adventure. The High in the Sky Trolley normally has a high wait time for a reason. It’s great, no matter what your age happens to be.
There are also a ton of shows. Meet and greets are worlds away from what you experience at Disney. There’s very little wait, if any, and you can have lengthy interactions with the characters.
Rides… MiB is the one that comes to mind the most. That one is super fun and does spin, but it’s not a coaster or anything. It’s a little like the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney. ET and Cat in the Hat are easy ride-throughs with scenes, like many of the rides in Fantasy Land.
If she likes water rides, there are a few, but note that you WILL get VERY WET on Popeye’s, so be prepared. Ripsaw Falls isn’t quite as bad, but odds of getting wet are roughly 50/50. Jurassic Park is a Splash Mountain-type ride.
If she likes simulators, she’s going to LOVE this place. They make up about half of the rides here. Just off the top of my head… Minion Mayhem, Fast and the Furious, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, Reign of Kong (watch out for possible scare actors in the line), Transformers, Simpsons, Jimmy Fallon, Shrek 4D (a movie, not a simulator ride), Spiderman… I feel like I’m forgetting some.
Hogwarts Express should be taken both ways, since it’s two different experiences.
I also recommend the Raptor Encounter in the Jurassic Park area, as well as the Discovery Center. There are all kinds of fun areas to explore, particularly in both Harry Potter areas.
Universal Orlando doesn’t offer the great service or food you find at Disney World, but they do have more fun entertainment for teens & adults. The Harry Potter attractions should not be missed! Also, the Blue Man Group is worth a side-trip from Disney World. I have been to Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure too many times to count and I always stay at one of the three onsite hotels that offer the free Express Passes. If there are at least three people in your party, the cost of the room will be less than the cost of staying somewhere cheaper and buying Express Passes. All three hotels are very nice and you can easily see and do everything in two days with Express Passes.
I would love your touring plans for Universal in Orlando and Islands of Adventure. Even Volcano Bay if you have it. Please and thank you
Hello Tom,
Great article and very much informative. You present a new view about Orlando to me.
I found this write-up pretty helpful as it takes care of everything that needs to be taken into consideration while planning a vacation at the Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure. The write-up helps us get going with some great tips and hacks to save money as well as time while visiting the Walt Disney World. I especially liked the important pointers that helped me avoid the crowds and get around in the city without much hassle and enjoy all the live action at the amusement parks in Orlando.
What would be your blueprints for universal studioes, we are going the 3rd week of oct
Amazing blog…this so beautiful…Disney Parks ‘Daily Trip Blueprints is so beautiful…all the attractions was so wonderful…! so beautiful write-up..I liked it very much!
I was in Orlando recently and Lyft was usually cheaper than Uber.
Good article. This tips will be realy useful during my trip
The picture itself speaks how the fascinating places are they and thank you for posting it.
As of April 2018 the ex pass is good to use on both the Harry Potter rides. And ps how are you not a HP fan??!
Hi Tom,
Is there another blogger you recommend for all things Universal Studios? We loved your Disney tips for our last trip, but are doing all universal this trip and need some help!
Thanks!